Reddy A Anita, Subramanian Uma
Department of Speech and Language Studies, Dr.S.R.Chandrasekhar Institute of Speech and Hearing, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Department of Speech and Language Studies, Dr.S.R.Chandrasekhar Institute of Speech and Hearing, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
J Voice. 2015 Sep;29(5):603-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2014.09.022. Epub 2015 Mar 17.
Vibrato, a small, nevertheless an important component in the singing voice is known to enrich the overall singing voice quality. However, in the perception of overall performance, it is often neglected. Singing performance is often appreciated by a mixed audience of those who love music, but not necessarily sing and other singers who may or may not be teachers of singing.
The objectives of the present study were aimed at investigating singers' and nonsingers' perception of vocal vibrato and its effect on the ratings of singer's overall performance.
Prerecorded audio samples of the chorus of a hymn (How Great Thou Art) as sung by 10 singers (both men and women) were played via a speaker to two groups of judges which consisted of three experienced singers and three experienced nonsingers. The singer judges (SJs) were vocal instructors in Western classical, music theater, pop, and contemporary styles. Seven parameters (presence of vibrato, rate, extent, conspicuousness, quality, periodicity, and type) related to vibrato were evaluated through auditory perception by these two groups of judges on a rating scale developed specifically for the study, and one parameter evaluated singer's overall performance.
Cohen's Kappa statistical analysis was used for inter-rater reliability within groups. Nonsinger judges (NSJs) within the group showed varied ratings as did SJs, yet SJs did have higher agreement than NSJs. Chi-square analysis was used across groups. Both groups were distinct from each other in their perception of vibrato. Ratings of singer's overall performance were not affected for NSJs, but certainly affected for SJ.
It could not be concluded that ratings on singer's overall performance was affected as a result of vibrato. Since vibrato is often over-ridden by the singer's voice. But a rare occasion can arise where a vibrato may not sound pleasant and can affect the listener's perception of the singer's performance. Often a feedback from listeners would help monitor singers' performance.
颤音是歌唱声音中一个微小但重要的组成部分，已知它能丰富整体歌唱音质。然而，在对整体表演的感知中，它常常被忽视。歌唱表演往往受到两类观众的欣赏，一类是热爱音乐但不一定唱歌的人，另一类是可能是也可能不是歌唱教师的其他歌手。
本研究的目的是调查歌手和非歌手对声乐颤音的感知及其对歌手整体表演评分的影响。
通过扬声器向两组评委播放由10名歌手（男女皆有）演唱的一首赞美诗（《你真伟大》）合唱的预录制音频样本，两组评委分别由三名经验丰富的歌手和三名经验丰富的非歌手组成。歌手评委（SJ）是西方古典、音乐戏剧、流行和当代风格的声乐教师。这两组评委通过听觉感知，根据专门为该研究制定的评分量表，对与颤音相关的七个参数（颤音的存在、速率、幅度、明显度、质量、周期性和类型）进行评估，还有一个参数评估歌手的整体表演。
使用科恩卡方统计分析来评估组内评分者间的信度。组内非歌手评委（NSJ）的评分各不相同，歌手评委也是如此，但歌手评委的一致性确实高于非歌手评委。使用卡方分析来比较两组。两组在对颤音的感知上彼此不同。非歌手评委对歌手整体表演的评分不受影响，但歌手评委肯定受到影响。
不能得出歌手的整体表演评分因颤音而受到影响的结论。因为颤音常常被歌手的嗓音所掩盖。但也可能出现罕见的情况，即颤音听起来不悦耳，会影响听众对歌手表演的感知。通常听众的反馈有助于监督歌手的表演。
